Places and Themes

I love to place my characters in memorable settings.  Right now, in my first two books, the settings are in well known places.  Here are a few pictures of some of my favorite “ports of call,” both the more well-known ones and the lesser-known but cozy.  The snapshots are taken from our family albums.  (Wish one of us was a professional photog.) 

Click on the thumbnails to see the full pictures.

New York 

That’s my dear husband (DH), in Central Park in Manhattan.  Several chapters in Lost Mountain take place in Manhattan.  Part of one chapter takes place in Central Park. 

I lived in New York City for almost thirteen years.  Now I’m a California girl, but in part of my heart I’ll always be a New Yorker. 
 

Long Island, New York 

DH and I at a park near Stonybrook, NY, on a crisp winter day without snow. 
 

London 

Recently, my family and I lived in England for a couple of years.  The first scene of Lost Mountain portrays a family preparing to move from England to California.  (Wonder where I got that idea?) 
 

Paris 

Who doesn’t love Paris?  That’s me on a bridge over the Seine. 

Biarritz 

Here we are, our small but happy family, in this beautiful place on the Atlantic coast of France.  Many people rush to the Côte d’Azure, but a dear friend of mine from France who now lives in the United States says more people should try the country’s Atlantic beaches. 

Rome 

They say all roads lead to Rome.  I love it when my path takes me there!  Here’s the Via Veneto, a tree-lined street.  In Lost Mountain, my hero and heroine have lunch at an outdoor restaurant on the Via Veneto. 

I couldn’t resist a second picture of the Eternal City.  You can guess how much I love Rome.  That’s me in St. Peters, in Vatican City.  My sister took the picture. 

Rocky Mountains, USA 
 

Here’s my Dear Daughter (DD) at the Continental Divide, about two years ago.  It’s always fun to feel like you’re on the dividing line between two significant places.  When I was a little girl and my family drove through the Lincoln Tunnel, we used to stretch our hands in front of us at the dividing line and say that we were in two places at once—New Jersey and New York.  I love the snow and I love skiing.  Lost Mountain has several scenes that take place in the snow.